Local merchants rip you off?

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knightstyle
knightstyle Posts: 6,990 Forumite
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in In my home (includes DIY) MoneySaving
Yes, we should support them but at what cost?
Fan on my central heating boiler has failed,
Local merchant, £200 plus VAT 12 month guarantee.
On line merchant £48, including next day delivery and 24 month guarantee.

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  • EachPenny
    EachPenny Posts: 12,239 Forumite
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    Did you ask the local merchant if they could give any discount? Although 75-80% would be an optimistic ask. ;)

    Are you sure you are comparing like for like? Local merchants will sometimes only sell the highest quality branded item, whereas online suppliers will substitute lower cost (i.e. sometimes lower quality) alternatives.
    "In the future, everyone will be rich for 15 minutes"
  • bris
    bris Posts: 10,548 Forumite
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    Ok but just remember there as a huge market for counterfeit boiler parts online. A genuine fan could never be sold for £48. If you think otherwise then you are wrong.
  • Jackmydad
    Jackmydad Posts: 9,186 Forumite
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    The other possibility is that some of these parts have a huge "trade discount"
    It doesn't get offered to the public who don't have an account.
    Back when there were many less "sheds" than there are these days, I used to get plumbing parts from a "trade only" place where my late FIL had an account. It really was "trade only" as well.
    The prices were an eye opener.
    Same for bearings.
    And tools through my then employer.
    I'd have asked the online supplier if it was a genuine part or a pattern?
  • knightstyle
    knightstyle Posts: 6,990 Forumite
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    Well the seller has great feedback and the fan arrived early this morning, fitted and running fine now. It looked identical to the one in the plumbers merchant, even the cardboard packaging was the same.
  • Furts
    Furts Posts: 4,474 Forumite
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    knightstyle wrote: »
    Well the seller has great feedback and the fan arrived early this morning, fitted and running fine now. It looked identical to the one in the plumbers merchant, even the cardboard packaging was the same.


    Some of these counterfeits are sooo convincing. Even the packaging looks the same!
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